The End of The Games
by MoynelleWrites
Summary: The End of the Hunger Games is drawing near, and Thea McCoy must win. It's hard though, with food and water growing shorter each day, nightmares that wake her from her sleep. However After receiving a nice gift from the feast, Thea know she will have a chance to still live in these Games. She must kill the Boy from District 2 and the two lovers, Peeta and Katniss, from District 12


Sarah MacMahon

2nd 9 weeks book project

Hunger Games

The End of the Games

I dart out of the Cornucopia holding my bag of supplies I badly need. I climb up a tree and perch myself to watch the feast end. The girl from District 2 lies on the floor of the Cornucopia moaning in pain. The boy from her district cradles her and begs her to stay with him. Katniss is leaving the scene, covering her tracks with the muscular boy from District 11 runs away too, towards the fields, carrying his bag along with the bag meant for District 2. Kneeling by the girl from District 2, the boy is yelling, begging her to stay with him. Her tension releases, and the boy shakes his head. He stands and looks towards the path District 11 went and breaks into a sprint, spear in hand and ready.

I sigh; five are left, and I'll have to step out of the shadows soon. I hop down from the tree and head towards my camp which is a good walk away from the Cornucopia. I set the bag down on a branch and lean up against a supporting branch. I untie the bag, and it reveals to me two metal bracers. They're made with size-recognition. I put the braces on, and I smile to where I know there are cameras. I mouth, "Thank you," and blow a kiss. The people of the Capital will just love this. I am even willing to remove my wavy black hair from it's ponytail but quickly shrug the thought off. I must stay focused. My feet firm on the ground now, I let my arms relax at my side. The first gesture I test with the new accessory is crossing my arms; the metal works smoothly, and a shield wide enough to cover my face and large enough to stop a few arrows.

"It works good," I say; then I test out a few more gestures. I put my hands to the sides of my chest. I am now holding two daggers: steel, nice and sharp. I let my wrists roll into a low v, the daggers extend and I am given twin swords! Twirling and making some practice swings like second nature. I know for sure how I will win these games: a strategy that might not make me very popular in the Districts or even the capital; however, the games are all about entertainment,so I will be giving them what they want.

Above me, the sky lights up with the capital's seal and the anthem begins to play, showing the girl from District 2, the only death for today. I settle down, curling up in ball, doing whatever I can do for warmth, and begin to drift to sleep. Cold rain drops quickly wake me up. They're freezing cold and feel like acid with every drop on the skin that is exposed to the weather. I pack my supplies in one swift motion and drop from the tree. In case I'm being watched, I keep low to the ground and search for a safer place with coverage. Eventually, I come across a wide-mouth cave and I enter. It's good for wind-block, and it keeps me away from this freezing rain. I roll my right arm and show my sword. I scan the area before settling down to give myself more rest. These next few days will be the days leading toward the end of the Hunger Games. The Capitol will want excitement, and things to go by fast but with a good end. To have rise and fall, just like if this were some kind of weird show for them.

When I wake up in the morning, the weather is still not suitable for me to leave the cave. I'll need to fill up on supplies soon; I'm really running low on water, and I can already feel the effects of dehydration beginning. Resting my back against the cold stone, I finally get a break to sit and think about how I feel about these Hunger Games.

Growing up as the daughter or the wealthiest family in District 3, life was easy. I helped my father to create the technology advancements for the capitol. Over the years, I was taught about the Hunger Games and why we have them. They are here to remind us not to cause an uprising, like District 13, causing many deaths. I thought the idea was completely stupid; I hated attending the reapings and then watching how the Hunger Games unfolded. Bloodshed and death of children ranging from 18 to 12 year olds. I took no pleasure watching them. I had no fear of being picked either; I knew that victors are usually widely-known, and I always thought to myself that maybe I could be a change and help these families. Maybe if I won, I could bring a positive message to Panem and the Districts, families wouldn't have to suffer anymore. Those families that had to watch their child be gruesomely killed, made me die on the inside. Then they would have to meet the people that killed their child and act like their life wasn't changed by the action, unable to object. At home, I would study survival skills. When I turned 14, I questioned old victors for advice if I were to be chosen in the reaping. They would either ignore me, or tell me that the memory is too hard to bring back up. The Reaping Day came three years later and I was pulled out of the bowl, gasps filled the space. A smile actually came to my face. I've been asking questions, some weren't even taken seriously because I am the rich girl, they believed I was too lucky to be picked as the tribute from District three for the Hunger games. I'm glad to be chosen though, I have the chance to make a difference,I just have to win.

Night approaches, and you can barely hear the anthem, but I check outside to see if there are any deaths. The boy from district 11 flashes on the screen. As I stare a lightning bolt hits a tree very close to the cave, and I jump back, my chest rising and falling. My throat is becoming scratchy and my eyes sting. _Am I about to cry? No I can't, don't. Not here: Cry when you get home._ Another thing that I hate about these Hunger games. You must live with this awful memory. With the everlasting nightmare of the arena that you almost died in. You must live knowing you killed innocent people that were trying their hardest to get back to their families. The blood of these children will forever be stained on your hands. These thoughts threaten tears to leave my eyes so I lay back down and try to get some extra sleep.

The boy from District 2, Redhead from District 5, and the two lovebirds from District 12 are left. I wake up to warm air coming through to my cave. Gathering my supplies, I head out to find food. My braces are on, but I hold a spear for hunting any food. I will save the braces for when they're needed. By the end of my hunt for meat, I have three rabbits and one fish. I'm setting up a fire to cook the fish when a cannon booms, I wonder who it is. Surely it would be the boy from District 2; he seemed to lose his sanity when his fellow tribute died. Or maybe Peeta hit the hay forever; he wasn't at the feast, and he hasn't been around much, so maybe he's out there dying slowly. Or hiding behind Katniss. I take the fish after it's nice and roasted and cut a piece of it off with the dagger and munch on it. I take water from the creek and boil it and fill my metal flask. Limiting myself to a sip every now and then as I head back to my cave.

The night is growing cold, and I sit with my knees to my chest, uncontrollably chattering my teeth. The seal shines on the sky, and I am surprised to see that the redhead from District 5 is who the cannon fire belonged to. I thought she would live until the end, or I would possibly see a future fight with her. As I sigh I lay down and drift to sleep. I have a feeling things are only going to get worse.

I dream for the first time in a while. My father along my two brothers wait for me at the train station congratulating me on the win. I smile at my father, who strikes a remarkable resemblance to me: the baby blue eyes and soft dark hair with the contrast of pale skin. I am engulfed in a warm, welcoming hug hearing the words, _I'm proud of you._ I enter the town building and am shown a wonderful feast. I stuff my face with the roasted lamb and treat myself to chocolate. Everything seems to be going so well, and I'm so happy. I close my eyes for one second to turn and see Glimmer the girl from District one, her lips curled back into a snare and her she glares at me, I talked to her in the beginning of the Hunger Games and became close friends.

"That crown was supposed to be mine, McCoy." She began to walk towards me slowly. I looked around noticing all of the other tributes emerging from the shadows. Tears bite at my eyes when I see the young girl from district 10 who died in the cornucopia on the first day, who begged to me to save her.

"Why didn't you save me? We could've both lived," she said to me, and as she began to cry, she took slow, shuffling steps toward me. All of the tributes were closing in on me when Katniss comes up, breaking through to be ahead of the crowd.

"I made a promise to Prim." I can see tears and her rage. "And now that I'm gone, they won't be able to survive. It's because of you that my family is going to die!" She draws an arrow out of the quiver and places it on the bow. The arrow is inches away from my skull when I wake up. I'm drenched in sweat; my shirt and jeans are heavy. I take them off and ring them out as best as I can.

I walk outside, and I'm dizzy. I fumble with my hands while retrieving flask and almost burn my hands. I use my sleeve as a mitten and drink the boiling water. I put the water back in my bag and I head to the creek for more. It's hot out here, extremely hot. My odor is overwhelming, I need to bathe. Back at home, I never used to get this dirty unless I was working on something that dealt with oil with my father. I hated the feeling and wanted to rid myself of it as soon as I could. I break into a jog when I'm about 200 ft from the creak. When I come close I notice that it's completely dry. I can feel my tongue drying up and dehydration settling in. _I need to get to the lake, but I'm far away from it. Everyone else will be heading towards the body of water; surely this isn't just happening to me._

The walk to the lake takes half the day and the sun is beginning to set when I see Katniss and Peeta sitting down by the lake drinking water and searching for me and the District 2 boy. I climb up a tall tree, watching the sunset on the golden cornucopia. _It's going to be a long night._ I look down at the floor another time and I hear a rustle in the trees. Someone is panting, making their way to the opening.

The boy from District 2 sprints out of the trees, his body covered in armor of a sort; it must've been what he got from his bag. I expect to see him go cannibal on Katniss and Peeta, tearing at them with hunger in his eyes. Instead, he runs through them towards the Cornucopia. Katniss and Peeta are quick to follow. Then I see why they are running. Huge and hungry, their claws sticking out from their paws, some are beginning to stand on their hind legs. They're like big wolves, mixed with almost human features. My jaw drops and fear makes my heart skip beats as I jump down from the tree following the crowd to the Cornucopia.

I reach for the roof, while these things, the mutations, are catching up quick. Half a dozen are following the leader. All of their teeth are bared, and they growl watching us climb the golden horn. I'm the second to climb on; the Cornucopia's design makes it hard to get a good grip and pull myself up. It's also scorching hot, and when my hand slips, my face makes contact with the blistering horn. A sound of pain leaves me, and I lift my face to have my right cheek sting and my tears begin to fall. Sitting myself up, the boy from District 2 yells out to no one in particular, "Can they climb it?" He struggles to say this with his hands full of those mutts.  
"To hell if I know! Just get rid of them!" I cross my left arm across my chest and roll my right arm to retrieve my sword. A mutt comes my way; it keeps low to the ground with long strides. As I look into the eyes, I see that their eyes are not dog-like, I can't place my finger on it. The mutt gets up on its hind legs, and that's when I see it. A collar made out of wood with the number _10_ carved into it. The eyes are light hazel , and the fur is smooth light-brown. I remember those eyes, except the last time they were wide with fear, and I am pulled out of reality remembering every moment like it happened yesterday.

"Please!" The little girl from District 10 lets out a scream as a boy pushes her down, "Help me! Get him off please! I don't want to-" She is cut off when the boy places a knife in her skull, I take a dagger and he heads towards his next target. Me. I slice his neck open.I look at the dead girl who's blood is trickling down her head. I wipe it from her eyes and mouth, _I'm so sorry._

I'm brought back into reality when the mutation snaps at me. I yelp and jump back up, I have to fight. I have to kill the girl from District 10 again. She jumps on the Cornucopia swipes at me with her four inch long claws. She doesn't miss. Blood quickly makes my pant leg heavy. I shield the next hit from my face. She is close enough now and I drive the sword into her chest. She falls back and howls. It's faint, but you can hear the actual scream of the person. I shake my head as if to dismiss the thought. I scan around, preparing myself for more mutations to attack. They all seem to be occupied fighting the other tributes. Taking my bag, I pull out the first-aid kit, grab a bandage and tie it tighty on the claw marks. They're extremely deep and burn.

I study the fight down at the lip of the Cornucopia. The boy from District 2 is holding Peeta in a headlock and Katniss is holding an arrow aiming straight at his head. Peeta marks an X on the boys hand and Katniss shoots right before the boy from District 2 realizes what the plan was. He falls from the roof landing hard on the floor. The muttations hear his gasp when he hits the floor, the leader howls and the run towards the boy. He's pleading for help, a blood churching scream leaves his lips. My first reaction is to help, but he is drawing all the mutations to him. I'll be safer this way, but I feel like a monster. I can't even help him to put him out of his misery.

I look over to Katniss just in time. She releases an arrow at my head and I cross my arms creating my shield. Her eyes widen and she pulls her knife off her belt.

"It's my gift from the feast. Pretty nice aren't they?" I say to her in a sorrowful tone, in her eyes are full of pain and defeat. She clearly just wants to end this and go home to her family. I sigh and look down. Sh _e'll go back to her family in a coffin._ "Let the mutts finish District 2 boy then we fight." I can't let Petta interfere so I make my daggers, she is a little too late to react when I throw the dagger into peeta's chest. "Just me and you."

"Peeta! No, no." I broke her, I took away her friend, her love. Her hands rise to her face to try to stop tears but it's useless. I take swift strides to her, she raises her head and prepares to stand but I kick her, knocking her down letting her slide. I retrieve my dagger and slide to Katniss, taking her bow and arrows. She cries, pulling herself enough to crawl to Peeta and tries to save him. The make small conversation and she sings her three note tune. Mockingjays follow her melody, surrounding this sad scene.

The mutts have already ran off back into the woods and it's safe, I head to the boy from District 2. He lays there looking like raw meat. His voice barely audible, _Please._ I nod to him, releasing the bow, the arrow driving into his head putting him out of his misery. _Rest in piece, escape this hell hole._ The cannon fires marking the end of the boy's life.

Peeta is smiling at Katniss and they kiss. It's genuine and she cradles him, creasing his blond hair, he has bandages on his leg and on his chest. My dagger is thrown off to another side of the cornucopia. My dagger didn't go in deep, it's the wound on his leg bleeding out and the new one of his chest that's killing him. I muffle my cry, I didn' have to do that, he wouldn't have been a threat. I just put him in more pain.

"I didn't know Katniss, I'm so sorry Peeta" I roll my right arm for a sword, one bracer is gone due to the dagger having a new home in Peeta's chest. "I have a good reason for this. I'm going to help I promise, I'll help! I didn't want to ever do this!" I try to continue but Katniss cuts me off.

Her voice is blocked off when a cannon fires. Peeta is stiff, his face colorless. Peeta Mellark of District 12 is dead. Katniss looks up to me and repeats what she said before she was cut off by the cannon shot. "Well there you have it, Peeta is gone. I don't have any weapons, I am going to lose. Just please let me say some last words, and tell my family again when you see them."

"I will, I promise." My voice is croaked. I'm crying and I don't care. This is what the Hunger Games does to people. It hurts people, mentally abuses the watchers and players who survive. And the whole world needs to see this.

"I'm sorry Prim, please take care of yourself and mom. You're a strong girl, and I know you're going to make sure she will do well. I love you Prim, and Mom I love you too, and I'm so sorry for everything. To everyone in District 12, I'm sorry and goodbye." She holds up three fingers kisses the tips,holds them out towards the sky whistling her song. Mockingjays all around the arena follow making a beautiful melody. To show my respect to everyone I do the gesture. She is taking in the scene then motions me to come to her, then she leans in and whispers. "Please change this, end the Hunger Games. Take care of all the people you love, and live."  
I nod. Wiping tears from my face, I grab my sword and ready it. "I will provide your family and Peeta's with fresh food. I will watch for your family and I will take them into my care and protection. It was an honor meeting and playing the games with the girl on fire." Katniss smiles at me and closes her eyes. I thrust the sword right into her heart. The cannon fires. I begin crying uncontrollably.

The voice of Claudius Templesmith booms in the empty arena and I feel my body go numb. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victor of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Thea McCoy! I give you- the tribute of district 3!


End file.
